Green Highlighters!
by Mister Kite
Summary: Stuff happens to Katie Bell too. That's what this story is about. Don't ask about the title. There's a green highlighter on my bed. THAT's why. Rating M because I don't know where this is going. Maybe I'll change it.


"You'll stay in touch this summer, won't you?" I asked Leanne and Angie as we jumped off the train at Platform 9 ¾, carrying our trunks. "Of course!" Angie said. "I'll try…" Leanne told me. "But it isn't that easy. I can't get an owl to send letters – it will freak my parents out." It was always harder to keep in touch with Leanne over the holidays because her parents were muggles. "Not a problem. I'll just call you on that thing… The… um… The phone!" I exclaimed. Leanne looked highly impressed with me. "Very good, Kates. I think we know someone who'll be getting an O on her Muggle Studies this summer." She said confidently. "Here's hoping!" I said. "Well… It's just about time to go." I sighed. "Don't worry, Kates. We'll see you soon." Angie promised, hugging me. "Bye Angie." I said, reluctantly letting her go and turning to Leanne. "We will stay in touch, Leanne." I promised, pulling her into a hug. "I hope so, Kates." She said before letting me go. "See you!" I called to them, turning and walking towards the barrier onto King's Cross Station.

As I walked through it back into the muggle world I spotted my dad right away. "DAD!" I cried, dropping my things and running forward to hug him. "There's my Kitty Kat!" he said, smiling down at me. "You've grown up so much in the last year, darling." I grinned up at him. "So, where're mum and Lucy?" I asked, looking around. "Usually they come with you, don't they?" At this, he bit down on his lip. "I was actually meaning to talk to you about that, Katie." He told me, going over to where I dropped my things and picking them up. "You see, about two months ago your mum decided it was time to start cleaning…" This can't be good. Every time mum starts cleaning she finds something that we strategically hid from her for a very good reason. I sighed. "What is it this time?" I asked, not sure if I wanted to know. "She found… Well it isn't really bad it just… Just some old photos." He told me as we walked towards the car. "That doesn't _sound_ too bad." I commented. "Well, it isn't. Under normal circumstances. But Lucy is eleven now which means in September she'll be starting in first year and… Mum's just a bit upset. She feels the two of you are growing up too quickly."

I couldn't help but groan. When things like this happened it meant one thin and one thing only. "So, where is she dragging us off to _this_ summer? Is it a spooky mansion? Surrounded by a haunted forest in the middle of no where? So that no one will hear us scream while she performs her psychotic experiments on us to try and keep us young forever?" My dad sighed. "That isn't funny, Katie! You know your mum only does these things because she loves you." I glanced over at him. "Nice try, dad. I almost forgot I asked you a question there for a minute. But seriously, where is she taking us?" I was losing my patience with the situation. If he didn't tell me my mystery destination soon I might just explode. "I can't tell you, darling. She wants it to be a surprise. She hasn't told anyone what she's planning yet." He told me, shoving my trunk roughly into the back of the car. "That is _so_ unfair! I mean, what about me? What if I'd had plans for this summer?" I protested, pulling myself into the car. "Darling, I know it's not ideal. But I really get no say in this. You know your mother. Once she gets an idea in her head it's damn near impossible to change her mind." He said apologetically. "I know, dad. I just…" I trailed off and buried my head in my hands. A not so good start to what I could only assume would be a not so good summer.

We passed the rest of the drive home in silence, listening to the muggle radio. When we finally got back to our house I climbed out of the car and went to retrieve my trunk from where my dad had put it. "Remember to go easy on mum, Katie." Dad reminded me before opening the front door and letting us in. I nodded as I walked into the house and made a beeline for the kitchen, which was stacked full of photo albums as far as I could tell. As I got closer I heard my mother's voice explaining something to what I could only assume was my little sister. "And look, there's Katie in her little pink dress and…" Hold on a minute… "Little pink dress? What little pink dress, mum?" I asked in disgust. I had never in my lifetime owned a little pink dress. Not willingly at least.

"Katie!" my mum and sister chorused. I heard a rush of feet and before I knew what was happening I felt two pairs of arms grip me into tight hugs – one around my waist and one around my shoulders. "I'm pleased to see you guys too but do you think you could you maybe not crush my body in new and unusual ways?" I asked laughing. They both let me go and my mum took a step back to get a better look at me. "Katie, darling, you look so grown up." My mum whispered tearfully. "Well I'm not really that grown up, mum." I told her. "Now, do stop distracting from the point. I believe I heard someone mention Katie's little pink dress?" I quickly diverted the attention away from the fact that each and every day I was getting older. "Oh, yes. Don't you remember it Katie?" she asked walking back to the kitchen and motioning for me to follow her.

I walked in after her and saw her disappear behind a particularly large stack of photo albums before appearing back a minute later with a small, black photo album in her hand. She passed it to me and I saw the grumpiest little girl in the most hideous pink abomination standing next to a very sweet looking little boy. "Mum, are you sure that's me?" I asked cautiously. Surely I'd remember having an article of clothing that made me closely resemble cotton candy, wouldn't I? "Of course it's you, dear." She said, sighing at me. "Well who's that standing next to me?" She took the photo album back off me and inspected the picture closely before coming to her conclusion. "If I'm not very much mistaken, and I'm not, Oliver Wood." She told me, handing it back. "Mum, be serious." I implored her. "I am being serious dear. You and Oliver were quite close when you were young." She told me, disappearing behind another stack of photo albums.

"Well, what happened? Why don't I remember this?" I asked. "We stopped going to see Oliver and his family when you were six, dear." She called. "But… but why?" I asked, following the sound of her voice. "Because, dear…" she said, as I found her standing at the kitchen sink. "When you were six you got bored so you spent the entire day collecting slugs in the garden. Then when Oliver fell asleep you put them all over his face. I didn't think he was safe around you." I snorted with laughter when she told me this. I never knew what a cool little kid I was before today. "It isn't funny, Katie!" she snapped at me. "Sorry mum." I mumbled. "Anyway, I trust you won't do that again now that you're all grown up, will you?" she asked, glaring over at me pointedly. "Well even if I would, when would I get the chance to?" I asked. "It's summer now and all the slugs at Hogwarts are taken out by Hagrid." She glanced up at me from the sink. "Oh, didn't you know? We're going to stay with Oliver's family this summer for old time's sake."

_Did she just say what I think she said?!_ "I'm sorry, crazywomansaywhut?" I demanded, sitting down at the kitchen table. She sighed. "Katie Bell, I have told you time and time again to _slow down_ when you speak. No one can understand what you're saying!" she said sternly. "Sorry mum." I said. "I was just concerned that maybe someone slipped Essence of Insanity into your coffee recently. I hear the effects can be long lasting so we should really get that looked at." She laughed and sat next to me. "You're so funny Katie. Really you are. But it won't get you out of it this year. Please, Katie. Lucy is all grown up now. She'll be starting school just like you and this might be the last chance I have to spend a summer with the two of you." She said sadly. God I hated when she did that. "Ok, mum. If you really want to." I said. "Thank you, darling." She said. "Oh, and before I forget, your report card came in the post shortly before you got home." She sounded happy so it must have been good. "Well done, Katie. You got all Os! Except in History of Magic but no one does well in that boring subject."

I could have screamed of jumped for joy or cried. But I just smiled. "Thanks mum." I said before turning and leaving the room. _I have to owl Angie_ was all I could think as I ran up to my room and shut the door behind me. I practically threw myself at the desk in the corner and took out a quill and a piece of parchment.

_Dear Angie,_

_I'd ask how your summer is going but it only started this morning so it can't be that bad, can it? Anyway, there's a reason I'm writing to you pretty much the second I got in the door. My mum was cleaning again and though what she found is seemingly innocent don't be fooled just yet. Just some old baby photos. Incriminating, considering I'm in a pink dress, but innocent enough, right? Wrong. Apparently in my childhood I was friends with one, Oliver Wood. There's a picture of me in my cotton candy abomination, chillin' with him circa 1984. Incriminating but not drastic, no? No. Since Lucy is starting Hogwarts in September I have the grave misfortune of spending this summer how I allegedly spent the first six summers of my life. With the one and only. Something that I'll never be able to find a way out of. I need your help, Angie!_

_Love__, Katie._

When I was done I got up from my desk and threw open my bedroom window. "HEY, HOOT! GET YOUR BEAK IN HERE!" I called, looking around for signs of her. Hoot is the owl my parents bought before I started in Hogwarts so they could stay in touch with me. My sister and I spent hours trying to name her and we eventually gave up and started calling her Hoot. Just then a ball of tawny feathers came flying in my bedroom window headed straight for the wall. Just before she had a head on collision with the wall – again – she swerved up and landed on top of the wardrobe. "Hoot, you nearly gave me a heart attack there!" I said. "Anyway, now isn't the time for long awaited greetings. It's the time for fond farewells. I have a letter that I need delivered to Angie as soon as you can. Think you're up for it?" She hooted cheerfully and swooped down onto the desk, holding out her leg for me to attach the letter. I tied the letter to her leg and carried her to the window. "And make sure you don't leave until she replies, ok? Peck her fingers to ribbons if you have to but I need her to reply." I told her as she flew out the window.

I watched her disappear into the sky before dropping down on the bed behind me. _An entire summer with Wood? I don't think I can handle that…_ I thought. I must have fallen asleep because next thing I knew I was being pecked awake by a very impatient Hoot. I opened my eyes and saw that sunlight was streaming in through the window. "I'm awake, you impatient thing." I mumbled, reaching over to take the letter off Hoot's leg. I sat up on the bed and opened it.

_Dear Kates,_

_That's awful. I never thought that your mum of all people could be so sadistic! About visiting Wood AND the dress. Still, you must have done something wrong to have stopped going all those years ago. Why don't you try doing that again? Your mum is sure to take you home if you're misbehaving, right? At least go for one day and try to get your mum to bring you home. If that doesn't work write to me again and we'll work out a new plan, ok? Keep me posted._

_Love, Angie._

I had to admit, she had a point. I had done something to get myself out of that situation all those years ago. It was worth a shot trying it again. "Thanks Hoot." I said, throwing my legs over the side of the bed and getting out. I dragged myself down to the kitchen which was, thankfully, devoid of all photo albums. The clock on the wall said it was half eleven. "Mum?" I called. "In the living room, Katie!" she called back. I walked into the sitting room and saw my mother and sister fully dressed. "Mum, I know you're a morning person but it's unfair to start corrupting Lucy into one too. Let her be a teenager first, I'm begging you!" I rolled my eyes at her.

"Yes, Katie. We all know your views on mornings. But we have to go to Diagon Alley today to get your school things." She told me. "Today? Mum, we've got all summer to go to Diagon Alley!" I exclaimed. "No we don't. We're leaving tomorrow for the rest of the summer." She said. "Tomorrow? But mum we can't! We need to… We need to pack!" I said. "We'll use magic, Katie. You're a witch." She told me. "I'm an _underage_ witch!" I shouted. "Well I'm not. Honestly, Katie. Stop making such a fuss. You said yesterday…" she looked up at me with puppy dog eyes. _Since when do parents do that?_ I asked myself. "Yeah, I know. It's just so sudden." I sighed. "Are you going to go and get changed?" she asked me, eyeing my clothes from yesterday. "No. It's too early to take things off and put things on." I said, looking at her like she was crazy. She sighed. "Fair enough, Katie. We're going to Floo to Diagon Alley." She told me, clutching what I assumed were book lists from Hogwarts. I nodded and walked over to the fireplace. I grabbed a handful of Floo Powder and stepped in. I dropped the powder and green flames sprung up from the ground. "Diagon Alley." The room before me disappeared as I started spinning and next thing I knew I was thrown out into the middle of Diagon Alley. I stood up and dusted the ashes off my clothes. After another minute Lucy was thrown out next to me. "Lucy!" I grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet. "Are you alright?" I asked dusting her down too. She nodded and grinned up at me.

I could understand her excitement. When I was eleven I actually dragged mum out of bed at half six in the morning when I couldn't sleep so she could bring me to Diagon Alley. "Looking forward to starting Hogwarts then?" I asked her. She nodded her head vigorously just as mum came shooting out into Diagon Alley. "I think I need to go for a coffee. What do you girls say?" she asked, shaking the dust out of her clothes. "But mum I need so man things!" Lucy protested. "We can't just sit down and take it easy!" I could see a situation arising from this. "Mum, you can go and rest for a while. I can take Lucy to get her wand and then we can meet you in Flourish and Blott's to get the books." She looked relieved when I said this. "You're a star, Katie." She told me. "Just meet me at one o'clock at Flourish and Blott's. That gives you one hour to get the wand and have a look around, ok?" I smiled and nodded. "Ok, mum." She handed me a purse and left. She could never function without coffee.

"So, where do you want to go first?" I asked, turning back to face Lucy. "Let's go get the wand first! Then we can go and look at other shops. This is gonna be so cool, Katie!" she said excitedly, grabbing my hand and pulling me after her. "Slow down, Lucy! Take a minute to breath, would you?" I said, tripping over my feet right outside Ollivander's Wand Shop. "Oh, Katie I'm sorry!" Lucy said, helping me up. "It's fine. Just take it easy from now on, would you?" I asked as I pushed open the door to the shop and stepped in. The shop was dark and dusty and seemingly uninhabited.

"Hello?" I called out. "Mr Ollivander?" A man jumped us from behind the counter, making Lucy scream. "Sorry to have startled you, my dear." He said. "Here to get your first wand, is it?" She nodded her eyes still wide with fright. "Well then, let us begin!" he exclaimed dramatically, disappearing down what seemed to be a long corridor lined with small boxes which I knew to contain wands. "Perhaps," he called over his shoulder as he climbed up a ladder to retrieve one of the boxes, "this one. Blackthorn, 9 inches, containing a single hair from the tail of a unicorn." He was back at the desk so quickly I could have sworn he Apparated. He opened the box and took out a relatively short, dark wand and handed it to Lucy. She took it and waved it in a small circle, causing the lamp on the desk the fly at the wall and smash. "Perhaps not…" he said to himself, taking the wand back and putting it in its box. "But maybe…" he said, turning around and dropping to the ground, pulling out another box. Turning to us he handed Lucy another wand. "Cherry wood, 11 ½ inches, also containing a single hair from the tail of an entirely different unicorn." It was longer than the blackthorn wand and a much lighter colour. She took it and flicked it, causing an entire row of boxes to blast from their place on the wall. "Oh, I'm sorry." She cried, dropping the wand on the desk. "Not to worry, dear." He told her, picking it back up and replacing it to it's box. "Maybe we should try…" he told himself, climbing the steps on a nearby ladder and pulling another box out of the stack. He climbed back down and pulled out a wand quite similar to the last one. "Hazel, 13 inches, containing a peacock's tail feather. I don't work often with peacock tail feathers but it is, nonetheless, an exceptional wand." He told her confidently, passing it to her. She looked scared to cause any more damage to the shop but took the wand all the same. She slashed it through the air and the lamp she had previously destroyed mended itself and returned to it's place on the desk.

"Ah, a perfect match." Mr Ollivander said, smiling down at us. "That will be 7 Galleons, please." I paid him and managed to drag a hysteric Lucy out of the shop. "Did you see that, Katie?!" she squealed excitedly. "I waved the wand and the lamp fixed itself! It was so cool!" I followed her as she skipped down the road, babbling on and on about what happened in Ollivander's. "What time is it, Katie?" she suddenly asked, turning to face me. I looked at my watch which said it was a quarter to one. "Quarter to one. Do you want to go and get ice cream on the way to meet mum?" I asked. "Oh, can we? That would make this day even better!" she cried excitedly. I grabbed her hand and led her down the street to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.

We stopped outside a brightly lit shop with ice creams of various bright colours on display. I pushed open the front door, causing the bell to ring, and pulled Lucy inside with me. "Welcome, dear Lucy, to heaven on earth." I said as a man behind the counter turned to beam at me. "Well, if it isn't Katie Bell." He said fondly. I'd developed a good relationship with Mr Fortescue last summer. I'd been staying with Angie's family for a week and we decided to make the trip to Diagon Alley by ourselves. Angie had warned her parents not to worry if we didn't return home for a while because it was plausible I'd spend the entire day at Florean Fortescue's, indulging my sweet tooth. That's exactly what I did, too. And in the process I built a reputation for myself in the ice cream parlour as their best customer in a long while. "Mr Fortescue, it's lovely to see you again." I said, walking up to the counter with Lucy behind me. "Lucy just got her first wand so I thought we should celebrate the occasion, don't you?" I grabbed Lucy's hand and pulled her forward to see all the different ice creams. "First wand, eh? That definitely deserves a celebration. Pick out whatever you want, on the house." He said smiling down at Lucy. "Wow, really?" she asked, practically jumping on the spot. "Of course," he replied. "Not every day you get your first wand, is it?" Lucy looked as though she died and went to heaven. I shook her shoulder gently. "Hurry, Luce. We've got to meet mum in ten minutes." I reminded her. She eventually picked a scoop of cookies and cream ice cream. "And for you, Katie?" Mr Fortescue asked turning to me. "I shouldn't really." I sighed. "So a scoop of fruit salad ice cream?" he asked, smiling. "Well, you know me. Always doing things I shouldn't." I said brightly.

When we eventually left Florean Fortescue's we were running late to meet mum. "For heaven's sake, Lucy, run!" I said to her as I ran down Diagon Alley with my ice cream in one hand and Lucy in the other. We finally reached Flourish and Blott's and mum wasn't there. We looked inside and out but we couldn't find her. We stood outside for nearly ten minutes before she appeared through the crowd carrying a cup of coffee to go. She frowned at the ice creams in our hands when she got nearer. "Really, Katie, ice creams?" she asked disapprovingly. "I'm sorry, how many cups of coffee did you manage to squeeze into that one hour?" I asked, raising an eye brow at her. She looked down at the ground and mumbled something that sounded like 'twelve'. "Junkie." I coughed out, turning and walking into Flourish and Blott's. "Watch your mouth around your sister, young lady." She called after me, following me in with Lucy.

Half an hour later we left Flourish and Blott's, weighed down with books. "Well, that's you two sorted for now." Mum said. "Shall we go home?" I nodded but Lucy just looked sadly up and down Diagon Alley. "Do we have to, mum?" she asked. "We can come back again soon, darling." Mum told her. "Ok." Lucy said brightly. We walked back to the Floo networks we fell out of this morning and took it in turns to Floo home. When we were all home, mum handed Lucy and I our school books. "Better get packing you two!" she said cheerfully. Lucy left the room right away but I stayed back. "Mum, please can we leave a different day?" I asked. "Now Katie, don't be like this. The summer will fly by and you'll have so much fun." She said confidently. "But mum…" She turned to face me. "Katie, go to your room right now and pack. We're leaving tomorrow at ten and whether or not you're ready, you will be coming." Normally I would have argued but the tone in her voice told me it would be a bad idea to do that. I stormed off to my room and slammed the door behind me. _I have so much damn packing to do!_ I thought angrily. Then an idea hit me. _Well, it's worth a shot._ I told myself, taking my wand from my bedside locker. I slashed it through the air. "Pack!" I commanded my things viciously. And to my utter amazement, everything I thought I could have needed threw itself unceremoniously into the trunk. _Ah, the benefits of magic._ I sighed contentedly to myself.

"DINNER, KATIE!" my mum called up to me. I sighed and pulled myself up off the bed. I was in my own world all through dinner. I couldn't believe this was happening. There had to be some way out of it for me. I was jolted from my thoughts by a knock on the door. "Come in." I called out. The door opened slightly and my dad's head appeared around it. "Hello, darling." He said, opening the door wider and walking into my room. "I see you're all packed for tomorrow." I nodded. "Listen, I need to talk to you about something." He confessed, sitting on the end of my bed. "I'm afraid I won't be able to go on the trip with you tomorrow. Something very important came up at work and there's no way around it." I wanted to scream at him. Tell him how unfair that was and that I never wanted to talk to him again. But he'd heard it all before. "Fine." I said in a dead voice. "Fine? Darling, are you feeling alright?" His voice was simply dripping with concern so I knew the voice was working. "Perfect. Thanks." I said in the same tone of voice. "Katie, I'm sorry. I really am." _I'm not interested._ I thought bitterly. "I know, dad." I said, forcing a smile. He sighed and got up off my bed. "You'd best get some sleep, darling." He told me. "I will." He left the room and I lay down, falling instantly asleep.

"Wake up, Katie. Mum is really mad at you." Lucy informed me casually. _Mum's mad? Why?_ I asked myself. I sat up in bed and looked over at Lucy, who was sitting on my desk. "You overslept, lazy bones." She said, as if reading my mind. "Get up before she starts screaming bloody murder all over again." And with that she left the room. Reluctantly, I dragged myself out of bed and over to my wardrobe. I reached in and pulled out the first thing I touched. I changed quickly and ran downstairs; where my mother was sitting at the kitchen table, looking quite content to say the least. "Mum, I am _so_ sorry!" I said quickly. "Sorry, dear? For what?" she asked, looking at me in confusion. "Lucy said… And I… But you're…" I was so confused. Lucy had said mum was mad. I looked at the clock and saw that it was only half nine in the morning. "I'm going to kill Lucy." I muttered to myself, sitting at the table.

I had just enough time to take a piece of toast before mum jumped up. "Time to go, Katie. Dad's dropping us down to King's Cross Station and then we're getting the train down!" she told me, practically jumping for joy. "Bu' fyyy?" I asked through a mouthful of toast. Mum sighed and rolled her eyes. "First things first, I've told you time and time again not to speak with your mouth full young lady. Emphasis on _lady_! And last things last, we can't Apparate because Lucy is too young for something like that and we can't Floo because it's just downright rude to appear in someone's fireplace unannounced and besides that, when you were little you loved getting the train!" She explained, pulling me to my feet and shoving another piece of toast in my hand. "Now move!" I shuffled out of the kitchen unwillingly and made my way out to the car. "Morning Katie!" my dad said brightly. "I put your trunk in the car already, darling." I nodded and threw myself into the back of the car next to Lucy.

The journey to the station was uneventful. When we got there dad jumped out of the car and made a big deal of saying goodbye to us. _Oh, sure. Rub it in._ I thought to myself when he was hugging me and reminding me to 'be a good girl for mum'. I hauled my trunk behind me to the platform that mum and Lucy were at. _This thing wouldn't be so heave if I'd packed it by hand._ I told myself bitterly. I reached the platform just before our train did. Mum had already bought our tickets so we got on and found seats together. "Are you excited, girls?" mum asked happily. "You're going to have so much fun!" I couldn't help but laugh. _Have fun with Oliver Wood? Only if you like intensive and torturous quidditch practices at the crack of dawn._ I'd seen what he did to the Gryffindor team when he was temporarily put in charge because Charlie Weasley was in the Hospital Wing. I was still tired from being up so early this morning. I rested my head on Lucy's shoulder. "About this morning. Lying to me like that? You're dead." I told her. "But not just yet. I'm going to wait until you're not quite so comfy to lie on." Somewhere between London and Scotland I must have fallen asleep because all of a sudden mum was shaking me awake. "Shake a leg Katie. We're here!" she told me. She was practically jumping for joy. _It's going to be a loooong summer._ I thought as I watched mum get off the train with a genuine spring in her step.

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**Author's Note: **Okay. You hated it? I'm sorry. You loved it? I'm glad. You thought it was alright but nothing special? Tell me how I can make it better. Please? Be my guest to review and all that jazz. But be nice to me? It's my first attempt at writing something like this. My characters are probably bipolar, simply because it suited me to give them sudden mood swings. Why? Because I'm easily distracted. And, in conclusion, if you're reading this then thank you. If I knew where you lived I'd send you a cookie. A really good cookie. (:


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